


Troubled Waters

by Nadare



Series: Challenge Yourself Fic Prompts 2021 [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate take, Angst, Anti-Android Sentiments (Detroit: Become Human), Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gay Gavin Reed, Jealousy, M/M, Missing Scene, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction, Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Pre-Slash, Swearing, hankvin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29231193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadare/pseuds/Nadare
Summary: As if work wasn't challenging enough, Gavin finds the arrival of a certain android prototype trying. Especially when Connor is readily accepted by Hank who Gavin can only admire from afar.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Gavin Reed
Series: Challenge Yourself Fic Prompts 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146407
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Fandoms Challenge 2021





	Troubled Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge 1- Write a pairing you don’t ship. 
> 
> I did that for a while…until I started shipping it myself. As a result, there might be more of this in the future. Feel free to let me know if that's something you'd like to see. ^^

**_"Troubled Waters"_ **

“I'm here to see Lieutenant Anderson,” a man said at the front desk as Gavin stepped into the precinct lobby. If the people waiting to see him and his other officers was any indication, they'd have their hands full tonight.

“Do you have authorization?”

“Yes.”

There was silence, then, “He's on call, but his exact whereabouts are unknown at the moment. Would you like me to try calling him?”

“I already have tried that avenue of communication and made little progress.”

“I apologize for the inconvenience. Lieutenant Anderson is very much his own entity when it comes to adhering to his work schedule.”

Gavin’s curiosity up, he finally gave the situation a second look, nearly doing a double-take.

It was an android asking after Hank and not the usual models Gavin was used to seeing in everyday life. A prototype?

His brown eyes surveyed the room before settling on Gavin, or more specifically the badge hanging around his neck. He approached Gavin smoothly, the picture of politeness.

“Detective Reed, my name is Connor, the android sent by CyberLife. I'm working with Lieutenant Anderson on a case and-"

“Oh, Hank is going to fucking love you,” Gavin cut in with a sneer, enjoying the brief confused expression of Connor's before he rebounded. “I'd kill to see the look on his face when he meets you.”

Hank's hatred of androids was well-known in the precinct. Perhaps that was why he was out at the moment.

Connor blinked at him. “Does that mean you know his current location?” He'd completely missed the sarcasm in Gavin's words.

Weighing his options, Gavin smirked. Let the android go off on a wild goose chase for a while, prove it couldn’t even execute the simplest of tasks. CyberLife would see how creating fake detectives was a waste of their time and resources.

“Hank? He's probably half-drunk by now in some dive bar.”

Connor's eyes lit up. “I will begin a search of any nearby ones then. Thank you very much for your assistance, Detective Reed.”

“Yeah, real fucking charmed.”

The android marched out the entrance, heading towards a cab awaiting him on the curb.

“You know which bar is Hank's favorite,” Officer Chris Miller said as he stepped up next to Gavin. “Why couldn’t you have just told him?”

Gavin scoffed. “And make his job easier? Hell no, Chris.”

“Android or not, we are all still on the same team,” Chris replied, Gavin looking at him sharply in response.

“Maybe for you, but I'm damned if I’m ever going to willingly work with them.”

* * *

He hated the plastic prick.

Ever since Connor had arrived, Gavin saw him for what he truly was. A fucking nuisance that had no place in the police force.

He wasn’t the only one. A sizeable portion of the officers in the precinct didn’t see the need for androids to invade yet another part of everyday life.

Acting as support was fine, the more menial jobs perfect for them. But when androids thought they could take over roles previously filled by real people and do better, that was where many drew the line.

Connor's existence was a walking talking insult to anyone who'd spent years honing their craft, putting in the time and effort to move up in the ranks, proving their worth.

How CyberLife couldn’t see that Gavin had no idea. Were those running the company so blind with greed in that they were _that_ far removed from reality?

It was a damn joke and Gavin wasn’t laughing.

He was so sure Hank would share the sentiment. If there was one thing Gavin could count on, it was Hank's grumpy nature. He didn’t suffer fools lightly and Connor definitely fit that bill, but he didn’t reject the android.

Despite having Connor foisted on him with no warning, Hank let the android follow him around like an overgrown puppy, his eyes constantly on the older man, seeking his approval.

It was pathetic.

A man of experience like Hank should have known better than to indulge the experiment that was Connor. True, he'd seen better days, toiling away in a position that anyone else his age would have been promoted from years ago.

But Hank didn’t complain about his lot in life. He put his head down, worked his beat, and went home. Gavin admired the dedication, the refusal to let life beat Hank down. Whatever people thought of him now, Hank’s past accomplishments spoke for themselves.

Even with the recent rash of android cases, Gavin was sure the precinct would have been able to cope without android assistance. To find and put away those responsible for any crimes. It was what the police existed for, protect and serve the public.

Unable to do anything about the Connor problem, Gavin was forced to sit on the sidelines and wait until he could act.

And then the perfect opportunity came along a few days later, Connor finally leaving Hank’s side to investigate the evidence room.

Gavin followed, intent on ridding the department of the unwanted nuisance. He ignored yelling behind him and smiled as he relished the thought of a fallen Connor sprawled out at his feet.

* * *

“Connor?”

Gavin stirred on the floor, pushing himself up into a crouch. Though Connor hadn’t hit him much, he knew how to make his blows count. He was sure he’d have a few bruises form on his body before long.

“The hell you doing down here, Reed?” Hank asked as he knelt down beside him.

“Your fucking Ken doll nearly killed me,” Gavin snarled, pushing at Hank's hand when he tried to help him up to his feet.

He was infuriated at being so soundly defeated, his advantage with a gun nothing. It was especially humiliating in front of Hank.

“He's not mine.” Hank eyed Gavin's gun lying on the floor a few feet away and raised an eyebrow. “Though I'm sure you gave him a good reason to defend himself. Why’d you even follow him down here anyway?”

His voice was cold, sending a shiver down Gavin's spine. Usually, when Hank was mad, he was the loudest person in the room, yet right now he was cool and self-contained. Restrained.

“The damn thing needed to be put into his place.” If they allowed androids space now, it was only a matter of time before they took over and squeezed humans completely.

Between one breath and the next, Hank grabbed his collar and pushed Gavin up against the wall. He leaned close to Gavin, his jaw clenched tightly.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You are, bar none, the rudest asshole I've ever met. Constantly railing against anyone and anything that you guess paths with.

“Daddy never gave you enough hugs so now you take it out on other people?”

Gavin pulled at Hank's hand, trying to get some space between them. The sudden invasion of his personal space was disconcerting for a number of reasons.

“I'm here to work, not make friends. It's results that matter most of all.”

Hank scoffed, roughly releasing Gavin. “And that's why you'll never get past the rank of Detective.”

As Hank started to walk away, Gavin yelled after him, “Why are so fucking sweet on that plastic prick? He give great blowjobs or what?”

Hank looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. “His name is Connor and he's saved my life two times now to the detriment of our case. He's more human than you'll ever be.”

The words stung, Gavin biting his lower lip. “They'll never be anything but tools no matter how much they act like they have feelings.”

“You know what?” Hank turned back towards him. “You keep talking and I'll finish the job Connor started.”

Gavin glared at him, daring Hank to even try a hand on him again. “I'd love to see you try it.”

To his surprise, Hank chuckled. “I just punched an FBI agent and will probably get suspended the instant I show my face upstairs. I have no problem adding assault of a fellow officer to the list, especially when they deserve it.”

“Why the hell did you do that?”

Hank shrugged. “Connor needed a distraction. I assume he got what he needed.”

Gavin recalled Connor mentioning he had what he needed to close out the case before they came to blows. “How's a single android going to make a difference?”

“History's full of people doing the right thing and turning the tide.” Hank paused for a moment. “If Connor were as much of a machine as you think, he would’ve killed you. Yet he didn’t. What do you think that means?”

Gavin mulled that over, for once at a loss for words. He hated to admit it but Hank had a point. So far, any deviant androids who'd killed people were emotional wrecks, hating what they'd done. Not one wanted to do it again.

“Oh, by the way,” Hank said casually. “You want to know the best thing about finding you down here, Gavin?”

Gavin knew he wasn’t going to like the next words out of Hank's mouth.

“Your little beat down is all on tape.”

Though he tried not raising to Hank’s bait, Gavin couldn’t help but glance at the cameras surveying the evidence room that whirred quietly in their respective corners. Unobtrusive, and all but invisible.

Hank smirked. “If I wanted to, I could take that footage and make you the laughingstock of the precinct for the next few weeks. You’d be Connor's little bitch.

“See, unlike you who pisses off everyone he meets, I have friends here. If I call in a favor with the tech boys, you'd be able to save face.”

“What the fuck do you want, Hank?” Gavin asked with resignation, afraid of what he'd ask for his little favor.

Hank's eyes went hard. “Stop harassing androids, namely Connor. He's just doing his job and if I’ve learned anything about him this past week, Connor’s likely to break this case wide open.

“Whether or not that means he goes deviant or not remains to be seen, but either way I've got this gut feeling he'll be back. I don’t want you making him feel unwelcome, understood?”

Gavin rolled his eyes. Hank had gone soft on Connor for sure. Little fucking do-gooder had somehow slipped under Hank's well-kept defenses.

There was no way he was getting out of this without giving into Hank’s wishes.

“What do you even have against them? You know my beef but it's like the mere sight of them is some personal insult for you.”

Gavin briefly entertained the thought of revealing his very famous half-brother’s accomplishments, how he and his father had abandoned him and his mother at the first sign of trouble, then never gave them a second thought when they found success during the founding of CyberLife.

Because of that, he had a hard time putting trust in others, which was why he always pushed them away the first chance he got. Better to be the one that hurt than to be hurt himself.

Not wanting to pour out the whole sob story, Gavin settled for, “I'm never going to like them.” He vowed to keep a wide berth from Connor if he did indeed return to the precinct.

“I’d be surprised if there was anyone you _did_ like,” Hank replied. He reluctantly handed Gavin his gun who promptly holstered it.

Warmth flashed in Gavin's chest and he grunted, hating the weakness on his part. How helpless he was against it.

“I'm fucking human too.”

Amusement lit up Hank's face, chasing away some of his hostility. “Oh, yeah? It's not Tina, is it?”

Gavin peered at the man walking alongside him, noting the tired lines in Hank's face, the visible beer gut that his shirt barely concealed. Why did he always go for the difficult ones? He truly had terrible taste in men.

Despite Gavin’s best efforts, their relationship was antagonistic, barely able to talk civilly most of the time. He doubted Hank thought much of him.

“Like you care, old man.”

As Gavin had hoped for with the flippant comment, Hank scowled at him. “Screw you, Reed,” he told him tiredly before he rounded the corner into the main bullpen.

“Hank!” Captain Fowler immediately called out, Hank's shoulders flinching. “My office now.”

Watching Hank stalk to the Captain's office door for his inevitable comeuppance, Gavin sighed.

“You wish,” he muttered to himself, resigning himself to another long night of work.


End file.
